


A Bad Case of the Mondays

by miss_nettles_wife



Series: Eerie Advent 2019 [5]
Category: Eerie Indiana
Genre: Multi, Post-Apocalypse, new society, pairing is so minor u could ignore it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:07:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22066744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_nettles_wife/pseuds/miss_nettles_wife
Summary: In the end of the world, Janet laments not having a calendar to Dash and Marshall.  (written for Eerie Advent 2019 prompt 'Calendar' from Froodle)
Relationships: Janet Donner/Marshall Teller/Dash X
Series: Eerie Advent 2019 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558696
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	A Bad Case of the Mondays

**Author's Note:**

> second too last prompt >.> is it still an advent if it's already been Christmas? Oh well. I just finished playing Nuka-World for Fallout 4 and that serves as the inspo for this.

“Wish we had a calendar.” Janet sighed, putting her feet up on the railing. 

“Why?” Marshall asked, and took a swig from his coke. It was funny how it was still carbonated, despite being five years old. 

“Because I want to know what day it is.” 

“I can tell you what day it is.” Marshall looked down at his watch, then at the sky," then said, “It’s Tuesday.” 

“You can’t know that.” The tunnel of love music started to quiet as they ended the dark humid tunnel. Along the walls, there were strings of Christmas lights, salvaged from town. Back when it was still safe to go there. These days, they tended to stay in the park. It was safer. 

“Yes, I do.”

“No, you don’t.” 

“Do you know any better?” She didn’t. The only way she knew it was five years was because once a year in the Arcade her account would wish her a happy birthday and give her ten extra tickets to add to the few thousand she’d racked up in there. But it didn’t actually have a clock or calendar on the interface. Simon said it was to not let people know how long they’d spent there putting their hard-earned dollars into rigged games for worthless prizes but she wasn’t convinced it wasn’t just bad design. 

“Okay, fine. It’s Tuesday.” She said, “What month is it?” 

“Hmm. November.” She scoffed and then leaned in to put her head on his shoulder. She twirled a loose thread from his Eerie World brand letterman coat around her fingers. It was starting to get cold, which meant dividing up the warm clothes and blankets that they had to the people who needed them more. And maybe she could convince Simon to get some new clothes while she was at it, the kid was shooting up like a weed. She was worried, irrationally, that he was going to get frostbite on his ankles. 

They were all wearing Eerie Land clothes these days, not because any of them favored the style (least of all Dash) but they’d only been kids when they decided to set up here so the clothes they’d arrived with like Marshall’s Army Jacket and Melanie’s flannel shirt were all too small now. Mars favored a jacket and t-shirt with Eerie Land’s mascot, a rabbit with carrots for ears. Janet’s shirt read ‘I - heart- Indiana’. 

The last time any of them had gone into town were to get new clothes. She, Mel and a couple of other girls who’d come too wanted dressed to wear to the dance that they were holding in the old ballroom of the haunted house. All the animatronics had been moved out and the music had been played from old CDs that they’d brought back with them. Janet had thought she looked nice in her long blue dress, and Marshall seemed to think so as well. 

She thought he looked good, even if the only effort he’d put in was shaving and running a comb through his hair. It was a good memory, and it was important to keep making good memories. That was what she thought, at least. If morale got low than they’d all start to turn on one another and after what they’d seen in town that was the last thing that anyone wanted. Things were good right now. She wanted them to stay good. 

“This is our stop,” Mars said, and she released his jacket, standing up in the boat. She used to be worried about falling in but she was so used it that by now it was just second nature. She still let Mars lift her the last few inches anyway. The Tunnel of Love was a pretty good place to set up. It was under a roof, which was something Marshall had wanted. No man-made shack roof mind you but a proper old-world roof. The lights could go off and make it pitch black, and at first she thought the sound of the water might be upsetting but it was actually comforting. 

The platform used to have a large heart statue on it. Janet had never been on the Tunnel of Love before they moved here, she’d been too young so she didn’t know what it looked like in its glory days but it was crumbling into chunks of stone by the time they showed up. Getting rid of it was the simplest choice. It had only taken two boats worth of stuff to get it out of the tunnel and allow them to set up their living space. 

It was the three of them who lived there now. Her, Mars and Dash. Simon had lived there too, at first. But he was eighteen now and he wanted his own space, and they weren’t about to deny him that so they set him up in one of the empty rooms in the Saloon over in the Western-themed area. These days he was always wearing the western costumes, and they didn’t look too bad on him. Like he was a cowboy, or maybe a gunslinger. 

Their furniture was taken from other rides and attractions to make their comfortable living space. The bed was two single mattresses on the floor taken from a nearby motel, and made up with sheets that they’d taken from the Teller House what felt like a lifetime ago. There were two hot plates and some pans for cooking, and Marshall had even rigged up a camping shower for bathing, if they didn’t feel like doing it in the bathrooms by the pool. They kept their clothes neatly folded (well, Janet’s were folded Mars and Dash had no such ideas about cleanliness) in baskets printed with tiny hoppers. There was a bunch of well-read magazines, books and comics stacked up on a little table and an executive couch they’d brought from corporate. It was on said couch that Dash was lounging, his feet resting on the armrest, a well-worn copy of EERIE! In his hands. 

“What day is it?” She asked him, as the two of them stepped out of the boat. 

“Huh?” He asked, not bothering to look at them. 

“What day is it?” She repeated, louder this time. Seeing that they weren’t going to leave him alone Dash lowered the magazine. 

“I don’t know. Your birthday?” 

“Nice try. My birthday was ages ago.” 

“I think it’s Monday,” Marshall announced, kicking off his poorly sized sneakers and lying down on the bed. “Just had a Monday sort of day today. Lots to do, not enough time to do it. Wishing it was a day off.” They all had different but important jobs around the park to keep the place livable. Melanie worked to keep the place safe by organizing and participating in a guard sort of role. Dash helped Simon tend to their farm, to keep them all fed. Janet taught the younger kids how to read and write, and kept the newsletter of events going, along with Sara Sue who taught them art and illustrated them after her camera broke. Mars was a sort of unofficial leader, since coming here was his idea and he pretty much had ‘important protagonist’ stamped on his forehead. He mostly delegated jobs and came up with ideas to keep the place open to trading but also safe. 

She didn’t envy that job. 

“A Monday?” Dash asked, sensing an opportunity to be annoying, “Why not a Wednesday? Just have to get over that last hump and then it’s basically the weekend.” 

“We don’t really have weekends,” Janet remarked, toeing off her own shoes and then dropping next to Mars on the bed, crossing one leg over the other. 

“Hm, you’re right.” Mars said, “Maybe it’s like, a Thursday. The worst day of the week.” 

“Why is Thursday the worst day of the week?” Dash asked, confused. 

“Double science with Mrs. Masterdon.” 

“Oh, yeah that sucked.” Janet agreed. Dash rolled his eyes and abandoned his comic book, joining them on the bed, laying across both of their laps like a house cat. 

“Dash!” Mars exclaimed but didn’t kick him off. Since only his legs were on Janet he wasn’t too heavy and she was more amused by Marshall’s face. He wasn’t really upset, just...Bemused. And that was good. For a long time, a really long time, she thought none of them would ever feel happy again. They’d lost so much, how could they ever shift that weight even for just a moment? But as time kept marching forward, they did too. It was the only thing that they could do. 

“I still want a calendar.” She said, as Dash wiggled around, trying to get comfortable on a set of bony knees. 

“There are Eerie Land branded calendars in the gift shop?” Dash offered, “What’s wrong with them?” 

“They’re out of date. Maybe in another two years.” 

“Well gee Janet, don’t make it too easy for us.” He replied sarcastically. But there was no malice in it. “I left my comic over there.” He added, dramatically throwing his arms over his head, making her laugh and Marshall roll his eyes. 

“It’s a Monday, I’m telling you!” He exclaimed and well, there was no way to disprove him. So Monday it was. 


End file.
